In certain electrostatographic imaging and recording processes, for instance, in electrophotographic copying processes, an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductive surface is developed with a developer which is a mixture of carrier particles, e.g., magnetic particles, and a thermoplastic toner powder which is thereafter fused to a receiver such as a sheet of paper. The fusing member can be a roll, belt or any surface having a suitable shape for fixing thermoplastic toner powder images to a substrate. The fusing step commonly consists of passing the substrate, such as a sheet of paper on which toner powder is distributed in an imagewise pattern, through the nip of a pair of rolls, at least one of which is heated. Where the fusing member is a belt it is preferably a flexible endless belt having a smooth, hardened outer surface which passes around a heated roller. A persistent problem in this operation is that when the toner is heated during contact with the heated roll or belt it may adhere not only to the paper but also to the fusing member. Any toner remaining adhered to the member can cause a false offset image to appear on the next sheet and can also degrade the fusing member. Other potential problems are thermal degradation and abrasion of the member surface which results in an uneven surface and defective patterns in thermally fixed images.
Toner fusing rolls have a cylindrical core which may contain a heat source in its interior, and a resilient covering layer formed directly or indirectly on the surface of the core. Roll coverings are commonly fluorocarbon polymers or silicone polymers, such as poly(dimethylsiloxane) polymers, of low surface energy which minimizes adherence of toner to the roll. Frequently release oils composed of, for example, poly(dimethylsiloxanes), are also applied to the roll surface to prevent adherence of toner to the roll. Such release oils may interact with the roll surface upon repeated use and in time cause swelling, softening and degradation of the roll. Silicone rubber covering layers which are insufficiently resistant to release oils and cleaning solvents are also susceptible to delamination of the roll cover after repeated heating and cooling cycles.
Toner fusing belts are composed of a continuous flexible material having superior resistance to heat and a smooth surface. The belt substrate can be metallic or polymeric. The surface of the belt is composed of a thinly coated, low surface-energy polymer such as a fluorocarbon or a silicone-polymer.
Fusing members with a surface coating of a fluoroelastomer, especially vinylidene fluoride based fluoroelastomers, possess excellent heat, oil and chemical resistance as well as good fatigue and wear characteristics. However, fluoroelastomers with these excellent chemical and mechanical properties have a propensity to interact with toners, especially those formulated from polyesters, causing premature offsets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,181 discloses fusing members coated with a metal-filled elastomer surface obtained by nucleophilic-addition curing of a mixture of a metal filler and a vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer. Mixtures of the fluoroelastomers with silicone rubbers are also contemplated (column 8, lines 26-29) but no specific examples of suitable silicones are taught. The surface coatings disclosed are used in conjunction with functionally substituted polymeric release agents capable of interacting with the metal component.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,737 discloses a roll useful in electrostatography having an outer layer comprising cured fluoroelastomers containing pendant polydiorgano-siloxane segments that are covalently bound to the backbone of the fluoroelastomer.
There is still a need for coating compositions based on fluorocarbon copolymers which resist abrasion, interact minimally with toners and resist offset while retaining the advantageous mechanical and chemical properties characteristic of fluoroelastomers.